ReliefWeb

Note: This bulletin includes data since January 2020 till date, including comparison of the same period last year. Since May 2019, 36 new sentinel sites (including public hospitals, private hospitals, and medical colleges) were added and were gradually oriented and started reporting, thus increasing the number of reporting sites. The current number of sentinel sites is 118.

Highlights

603 cases of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) have been confirmed so far in Nepal, of which 87 cases have recovered.

Acute Gastro-Enteritis (AGE): 137 cases of AGE are reported this week. The majority of these cases are from Kailali (12 cases), Dolakha (10 cases), Achham (9 cases), Dhanusha (8 cases) and Kapilvastu (8 cases).

Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI): 116 cases of SARI are reported this week. The majority of these cases are from Kathmandu (17 cases), Surkhet (12 cases), Banke (8 cases), Morang (6 cases) and Rolpa (5 cases).

Dengue: Three cases of dengue are reported this week (one each from Kathmandu, Kaski and Baglung)

The EWARS was established in 1997 to strengthen the flow of information on vector-borne and other outbreak prone infectious diseases from the district to Epidemiology and Disease Control Division (EDCD) and Vector-Borne Disease Research and Training Center (VBDRTC), Hetauda. Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) can be mobilized at short notice to facilitate prompt outbreak response at central, provincial and local levels. RRTs can also support local level health institutions for investigation and outbreak control activities.

This information system is hospital-based. So far, the EWARS mainly focuses on the weekly reporting of number of cases and deaths (including "zero" reports) of six priority diseases/syndromes—Malaria, Kala-azar, Dengue, Acute Gastroenteritis (AGE), Cholera and Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI), and other epidemic potential diseases/syndromes (like enteric fever). It equally focuses on immediate reporting (to be reported within 24 hours of diagnosis) of one confirmed case of Cholera, Kala-azar, Malaria and one case of Dengue as well as 5 or more cases of AGE or SARI from the same geographical locality in one-week period.